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Impacts of COVID-19 on food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria

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  • Amare, Mulubrhan
  • Abay, Kibrom A.
  • Tiberti, Luca
  • Chamberlin, Jordan

Abstract

This paper combines pre-pandemic face-to-face survey data with follow up phone surveys collected in April-May 2020 to quantify the overall and differential impacts of COVID-19 on household food security, labor market participation and local food prices in Nigeria. We exploit spatial variation in exposure to COVID-19 related infections and lockdown measures along with temporal differences in our outcomes of interest using a difference-in-difference approach. We find that those households exposed to higher COVID-19 cases or mobility lockdowns experience a significant increase in measures of food insecurity. Examining possible transmission channels for this effect, we find that COVID-19 significantly reduces labor market participation and increases food prices. We find that impacts differ by economic activities and households. For instance, lockdown measures increased households' experience of food insecurity by 12 percentage points and reduced the probability of participation in non-farm business activities by 13 percentage points. These lockdown measures have smaller impacts on wage-related activities and farming activities. In terms of food security, households relying on non-farm businesses, poorer households, those with school-aged children, and those living in remote and conflicted-affected zones have experienced relatively larger deteriorations in food insecurity. These findings can help inform immediate and medium-term policy responses, including social protection policies aiming at ameliorating the impacts of the pandemic, as well as guide targeting strategies of governments and international donor agencies by identifying the most impacted sub-populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Amare, Mulubrhan & Abay, Kibrom A. & Tiberti, Luca & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2020. "Impacts of COVID-19 on food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 1956, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1956
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    2. Yonas T. Bahta & Joseph P. Musara, 2022. "Quantifying the Impact of COVID-19 Relief Vouchers Schemes on Food Security: Empirical Evidence Insights from South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Kalle Hirvonen & Alan de Brauw & Gashaw T. Abate, 2021. "Food Consumption and Food Security during the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Addis Ababa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 772-789, May.
    4. Al Mouskit Akim & Firmin Ayivodji & Jeffrey Kouton, 2021. "Do Remittances Mitigate COVID-19 Employment Shock on Food Insecurity? Evidence from Nigeria," Working Papers 4, Africa Institute for Research in Economics and Social Sciences.
    5. Gruère, Guillaume & Brooks, Jonathan, 2021. "Viewpoint: Characterising early agricultural and food policy responses to the outbreak of COVID-19," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    6. Ilan Strauss & Gilad Isaacs & Josh Rosenberg, 2021. "The effect of shocks to GDP on employment in SADC member states during COVID‐19 using a Bayesian hierarchical model," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(S1), pages 221-237, April.
    7. Debalke, Negash Mulatu, 2023. "Trajectory of covid-19 impacts on food security in Ethiopia: A panel data approach," MPRA Paper 117490, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango & Bernard Owusu & Jonathan S. Crush, 2023. "COVID-19 and Urban Food Security in Ghana during the Third Wave," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-24, February.
    9. Fitzpatrick, Anne & Beg, Sabrin & Derksen, Laura & Karing, Anne & Kerwin, Jason & Lucas, Adrienne M. & Ordaz Reynoso, Natalia & Squires, Munir, 2021. "Health knowledge and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 33-53.
    10. Shouro Dasgupta & Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson, 2021. "Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-22, September.
    11. Adjognon, Guigonan Serge & Bloem, Jeffrey R. & Sanoh, Aly, 2021. "The coronavirus pandemic and food security: Evidence from Mali," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    12. Valerie Mueller & Karen A. Grépin & Atonu Rabbani & Bianca Navia & Anne S. W. Ngunjiri & Nicole Wu, 2022. "Food insecurity and COVID‐19 risk in low‐ and middle‐income countries," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 92-109, March.
    13. Giroh, Dengle Yuniyus & Tafida, Ahmadu Abubakar, 2021. "Data Mining of COVID-19 Cases and Food Security in Nigeria," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 9(3), June.
    14. Adaku Jane Echendu, 2022. "Flooding, Food Security and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria: An Assemblage and Systems Thinking Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Adjognon,Guigonan Serge & Bloem,Jeffrey R. & Sanoh,Aly, 2020. "The Coronavirus Pandemic and Food Security : Evidence from West Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9474, The World Bank.
    16. Habtewold, Tsegaye Mulugeta, 2021. "Our Welfare at The Time of Covid-19: Early Empirical Assessment for Ethiopia," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 9(2), April.
    17. Gourlay, Sydney & Amankwah, Akuffo, 2021. "Household Agriculture and Food Security in the Face of COVID-19: Evidence from Five Sub-Saharan African Countries," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315881, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Bloem, Jeffrey & Farris, Jarrad, 2021. "COVID-19 Working Paper: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Food Security in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Emerging Microeconomic Literature," Administrative Publications 327341, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    NIGERIA; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; Coronavirus; coronavirus disease; Coronavirinae; food security; labour market; food prices; households; poverty; farming systems; social protection; food systems; Covid-19; phone surveys; labor market participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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